President Donald Trump's confrontational approach toward Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has had an unexpected consequence: helping unite Europe behind her.
After Trump questioned Italy's reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Meloni had sought his attention, European leaders rallied around the Italian premier, easing years of unease over her hard-right politics.
The episode is the latest example of Trump inadvertently pushing Europe closer together. Faced with wars in Ukraine and Iran, tensions with Russia and China, and trade disputes with Washington, European leaders are increasingly coordinating on defense, tariffs and foreign policy rather than acting alone.
"Europe is getting squeezed between China and America," said Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund. "They need to act as a bloc."
Meloni's willingness to publicly challenge Trump has strengthened ties with leaders who had once kept her at arm's length because of her party's post-fascist roots. After Trump criticized her and she called his remarks about Pope Leo "unacceptable," she was welcomed into high-level meetings with the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Poland, before holding her first bilateral summit with French President Emmanuel Macron since the pandemic.
Even Europe's nationalist parties are beginning to distance themselves from Trump. His tariffs and the conflict with Iran have proved unpopular with many voters. In France, far-right leader Jordan Bardella called Trump "erratic" and accused the U.S. of "foreign interference," while Germany's Alternative for Germany has also criticized U.S. military action against Iran.
The shift extends beyond the EU. Trump's threats to seize Greenland sparked protests in Greenland and Denmark, while a luxury development linked to the Trump family has become a political flashpoint in Albania. In Hungary, longtime Trump ally Viktor Orbán was voted out of office in April, with analysts suggesting negative perceptions of the Trump administration may have hurt him politically.
Despite sharing Trump's views on immigration and security, Meloni has remained firmly supportive of Ukraine, strengthening Italy's standing with European allies. Responding after Trump claimed she had "begged" for a photo with him at the G7, Meloni wrote: "Being your friend has certainly not helped" my popularity.
A recent Pew Research Center survey found Trump is deeply unpopular in Italy, with 83% of respondents expressing little or no confidence in his handling of foreign affairs. With elections due by 2027, analysts say European leaders increasingly risk paying the political price for the actions of an American president beyond their control.
